Bundesliga 2, Matchday 20: Bochum secure derby win over Schalke, Darmstadt and Paderborn miss chances to go top
Bochum beat Bundesliga 2 leaders Schalke in the Ruhr derby but they remain at the summit after both Darmstadt and Paderborn were unable to land away wins on Sunday.
Bochum 2-0 Schalke
Goals: 1-0 Miyoshi 1’, 2-0 Hofmann 43’
The game got off to a stunning start when Koji Miyoshi fired home from a Gerrit Holtmann cutback inside the first minute. Things then got even better for the hosts just before the break when Philipp Hofmann slammed home a shot off the under side of the bar after more superb work from Holtmann. Schalke were the better side after the break and even had the ball in the back of the net twice through Nikola Katić and Kenan Karaman, but both efforts were ruled out for a foul and handball respectively. The result sees Schalke’s lead at the top shrink to just a single point above Elversberg and Darmstadt.
Kaiserslautern 1-3 Elversberg
Goals: 0-1 Petkov 45+6‘ (pen.), 1-1 Rohr 45+9’ (o.g.), 1-2 Mokwa 55’, 1-3 Schnellbacher 86‘
Sent off: Robinson 45+5’
Both sides started this game at full throttle, with Bambasé Conté and Lukas Petkov both having clear sights of goal for Elversberg in the first 10 minutes. Lautern gathered themselves, and Paul Joly then went close for the hosts, hitting the woodwork from close range. A crazy end to the first 45 saw Lautern lose Ivan Prtajin to injury, then go a goal down to a Petkov penalty, for which Leon Robinson was sent off as a result of his foul on Maximilian Rohr. Lautern equalised moments later, with Rohr inadvertently knocking the ball into his own net after great work from Naatan Skyttä. Elversberg started the second half with intensity and soon regained the lead through David Mokwa's sweeping near post finish. Lautern did well to stem the tide of Elversberg pressure in the aftermath but couldn’t find an equaliser, and Luca Schnellbacher made sure of the points with just minutes to spare.
Hertha Berlin 2-2 Darmstadt
Goals: 1-0 Reese 2' 2-0 Eitschberger 15', 2-1 Hornby (pen.) 39', 2-2 Hornby 62'
Sent off: Kownacki 70'
Darmstadt missed out on a chance to climb to the top of the Bundesliga 2 standings but will take heart from battling back from two goals down to claim a point at the Olympiastadion. Fraser Hornby bagged a brace after Hertha had offered a regular threat on the break to race into an early lead through Fabian Reese and Julian Eitschberger. Despite the hosts being reduced to 10 men after Dawid Kownacki was shown a red card for hauling down Luca Marseiler, both sides looked to land a winner and a draw was a fair outcome.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-1 PaderbornGoals: 0-1 Okpala 2’, 1-1 Appelkamp 63’, 2-1 Itten 83’Sent off: Hansen 72’
Düsseldorf secured a dramatic comeback win against 10-man Paderborn to move out of the relegation play-off spot. Kennedy Okpala opened his account for his new club inside two minutes, meeting Raphael Obermair’s corner on the volley. While an equaliser eluded Fortuna in the first half, Markus Anfang’s side came out full throttle for the second period. Shinta Appelkamp equalised for the hosts before Mattes Hansen’s red card turned the game on its head. As Fortuna pressed, they were rewarded when Cedric Itten fired home his eighth of the campaign to secure a third straight victory at home as Paderborn missed their opportunity to go top.
Dynamo Dresden 1-1 Arminia BielefeldGoals: 1-0 Daferner 43’, 1-1 Handwerker 67’ (pen.)Sent off: Wagner 90’+1
Dresden and Bielefeld shared the spoils in Sunday’s relegation six-pointer. In an evenly contested first half, Christoph Daferner, on his return to the starting line-up, headed the hosts into the lead just before the break. But Bielefeld upped the ante in the second period with substitute Monju Momuluh making an immediate impact and winning his side a penalty. The spot-kick was dispatched confidently by Tim Handwerker as Bielefeld maintained their one-point cushion over relegation rivals Dresden.
Eintracht Braunschweig 1-0 Karlsruhe
Goals: 1-0 Ehlers 19’
Braunschweig put four points between themselves and the drop zone thanks to a tight but deserved victory over Karlsruhe. Kevin Ehlers headed in the only goal into an empty net midway through the first half after the visitors failed to deal with a cross. Karlsruhe showed greater endeavour in the second period, even hitting the post in added time through Roko Šimić, but could not find a way through, while Eintracht also failed to take further chances but still move to within two points of their opponents.
Holstein Kiel 1-2 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 0-1 Keller 50’, 1-1 Meffert 61’, 1-2 Futkeu 77’ (pen.)
Fürth secured their first win since November, bringing an end to Kiel’s five game unbeaten streak. Steven Skrzybski came closest in a rather uneventful first half but his effort, which was deflected twice, trickled just wide of Fürth’s post. After the restart, it took Aaron Keller just five minutes to fire the visitors into the lead, capitalising on David Zec’s defensive error before Jonas Meffert equalised with his first goal in almost two years. It was Noel Futkeu who again proved Fürth’s hero, scoring from the spot to secure the visitors a vital three points in their relegation battle to end their seven game winless streak.
Magdeburg 1-2 HannoverGoals: 0-1 Yokota 38’, 1-1 Atik 53’, 1-2 Leopold 56’
Hannover picked up their first away win since November to keep their promotion aspirations very much alive. Daisuke Yokota opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the campaign, capping off Benjamin Källman's attacking play, before striking the crossbar late into the first half. But it was Baris Atik who equalised for the hosts, bending one past Nahuel Noll before Enzo Leopold restored Hannover’s lead to pick up successive wins, condemning Magdeburg to back-to-back defeats.
Nuremberg 1-1 Preußen MünsterGoals: 1-0 Zoma 56’, 1-1 Hendrix 63’
Nuremberg and Münster shared the spoils in what was an enticing encounter. Mohamed Alì Zoma forced Johannes Schenk into an early save before seeing his effort cleared off the line by Jannis Heuer, but the Italian opened the scoring from distance shortly after the interval. However, Nuremberg’s lead didn’t last long when Jorrit Hendrix atoned for his earlier error, equalising for the visitors who, although winless in their last six games, picked up their first point of 2026 while Nuremberg made it seven unbeaten at home.
Watch: The top 5 goals from Matchday 20
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